In the succeeding asankya-kap-laksha, in the Sárananda kalpa, four Budhas appeared; Mangala, Sumana, Réwata, and Sóbhíta. In the time of the first of these Budhas, the name of Gótama Bódhisat was Suruchi-bráhmana; in that of the second, Atulanágarája; in that of the third, Atidéwa-bráhmana; and in that of the fourth, Sujáta-bráhmana.

One asankya-kap-laksha previous to the present kalpa, in the Wara kalpa, three Budhas appeared; Anomadarshi, Paduma, and Nárada; in whose ages respectively, Gótama Bódhisat was Mahésákya-yaksha-sénápati, a késara lion, and an ascetic.

In the Sára-kalpa, 100,000 kalpas previous to the Maha Bhadra kalpa, there was one Budha, Piyumaturá; and the name of Gótama Bódhisat was Jatilaráshtrika.

In the Manda-kalpa, 30,000 kalpas previous to the present kalpa, there were two Budhas; Sumédha and Sujáta. In the age of the first, the name of Gótama Bódhisat was Uttara, and in that of the second he was a chakrawartti.

In the Wara-kalpa, 118 kalpas previous to the present, there were three Budhas; Piyadarshi, Arthadarshi, and Dharmmadarshi; in whose ages the names of Gótama Bódhisat were Kasyapa-brahmana, Susíma-tápasa, and Sekradewéndra.

In the Manda-kalpa, 96 kalpas previous to the present, there was one Budha, Sidhárttha; and the name of Gótama Bódhisat was Mangala bráhmana.

In the Manda-kalpa, 93 kalpas previous to the present, there were two Budhas, Tissa and Phussa; and Gótama Bódhisat was called Sujatá-tápasa and Wijitáwi-chakrawartti.

In the Sáramanda-kalpa, 91 kalpas previous to the present, there was one Budha, Wipassí, and the name of Gótama Bódhisat was Atula-nága-rája.

In the Manda-kalpa, 31 kalpas previous to the present, there were two Budhas, Sikhí and Wessabhu; and the names of Gótama Bodhisat were Arindama-rája and Sudarshana-rája.

After the dissolution of Wessabhu there were 29 kalpas in which no supreme Budha appeared.

This long period of remediless ignorance was succeeded by the Maha-bhadra* kalpa, in which five Budhas are to appear; Kakusanda, Kónágamana, Kásyapa, Gótama, and Maitrit. The first

* Pali, bhadda, from bhaddi, excellence.-Turnour's Annals.

"There are at Varanasi (Benares), according to the dreams of the Bud

four have already appeared; and Maitri will be the next Budha who will arise to bless the world.

The birth-place of Kakusanda was Mékhalá; his father, Aggidatta, and his mother, Wisakhá. The father of Kakusanda was próhita to the monarch of Kshéma. He remained a laic for the space of 4000 years, and had an establishment of 30,000 females, but Rochaní was his principal queen. At the birth of his son Uttara he left the palace in a chariot drawn by six horses, and after performing the necessary rites of asceticism for the space of eight months, he received the rice-cakes from Wajiréndrayá, and the kusagrass from Gunasubhadra; and at the root of the tree called sirisa, or márá, he attained the power of a supreme Budha. Near the city of Benares, he proclaimed the bana to 40,000 disciples. The king Kshéma was the Bódhisat who afterwards became Gótama Budha; on hearing the discourses of Kakusanda he resigned his kingdom and embraced the priesthood. The principal disciples of Kakusanda were Wadhúra and Sanjawí; his attendant, Budhajána; his principal female disciples, Sama and Upasama; his stature 40 cubits; the rays from his body extended to the distance of 10 yojanas; and his age was 40,000 years.

The name of Kónágamana was received from the circumstance that at the instant of his birth there was a golden shower (kanakawassán) throughout Jambudwípa. His birth-place was Sódhawati; his father, Sanyadatta; and his mother Uttara. He remained as a laic for the space of 3000 years, and had 16,000 females in his palace, but Ruchigátrá was his principal queen. At the birth of his son Swarthiwahana he left the palace on his state elephant, with 30,000 followers, all of whom embraced the priesthood. After performing the ascetic usages for the space of four months, he received the rice-cakes from Aggiséna, and the kusa-grass from Chinduka; and at the root of the tree called udumbura, or dimbul, he attained the object of his great exertion. Gótama Bódhisat was at this time the monarch Parwata, who made an offering to Kónágamana, and heard him repeat the prediction, " In the present kalpa, hists, 1000 (spiritual) thrones for the 1000 Budhas of this happy age, Bhadrakalpa, four of whom have appeared, and the rest are to come hereafter. Shakya, after becoming Budha, when he visited Varanasi, paid respect to the thrones of his three predecessors by circumambulating each of them, and then he sat down on the fourth throne. These 1000 Budhas are described in the first volume of the Do class of the Kagyur. Some wealthy Tibetans delight to keep the images of these 1000 Budhas, made in silver or other metal, and to pay respect to them."-Csoma Körösi.

this individual will become a supreme Budha." The principal disciples of Kónágamana were Sambahula and Uttara; his attendant, Sortthijana; his principal female disciples, Samuddá and Uttará; his stature 30 cubits; and he was 30,000 years of age when he attained nirwana.

The birth-place of Kásyapa was Benares; his father, Brahmadatta; his mother Dhammawati; the period during which he remained a laic, 2000 years; his queen, Sunanda; his son, Wijitasena ; his period of asceticism, seven days; the cake-giver, Emasunanda; the grass-giver, Somanassa; and his sacred tree was the nuga, or banian. His principal disciples were Tissa and Bháraddwaja, his attendant, Sarwachitra; and his principal female disciples, Uruwelá and Urulá. At this time Gótama Bódhisat was the brahman Jótipála. His stature was 20 cubits; he had a retinue of 20,000 disciples; and lived in all 20,000 years. After his body was burnt, the bones still remained in their usual position, presenting the appearance of a perfect skeleton; and the whole of the inhabitants of Jambudwipa assembling together, erected a dágoba over his relics, one yojana in height. (Sadharmmaratnakáré).

Н

V. GÓTAMA BÓDHISAT: HIS VIRTUES AND STATES

OF BEING.

THE TEN PÁRAMITÁS.-THE QUALIFICATIONS AND ADVANTAGES OF THE Bodhisat. -THE FIVE HUNDRED AND FIFTY BIRTHS.-THE SUJÁTA JÁTAKA. THE APPANNAKA JÁTAKA. THE MUNIKA JÁTAKA.—THE MAKASA JÁTAKA. THE GUNA JÁTAKA. THE TINDUKA JÁTAKA. THE ASADRISA JÁTAKA. THE WESSANTARA JÁTAKA.

A GREAT part of the respect paid to Gótama Budha arises from the supposition that he voluntarily endured, throughout myriads of ages, and in numberless births, the most severe deprivations and afflictions, that he might thereby gain the power to free sentient beings from the misery to which they are exposed under every possible form of existence. It is thought that myriads of ages previous to his reception of the Budhaship, he might have become a rahat, and therefore ceased to exist; but that of his own free will, he forewent the privilege, and threw himself into the stream of successive existence, for the benefit of the three worlds. There is a class of virtues, called the ten páramitás, one or other of which is pre-eminently exercised during the whole period in which the Bodhisat prepares himself for the supreme Budhaship (1).

In the discourses that were delivered by Gótama, he occasionally referred to the 24 Budhas who immediately preceded him, on which occasions he related the circumstances of his own life at each of these periods. The history of these Budhas has been briefly recorded in the preceding chapter. It was also the custom of Gótama, when any event of import

ance occurred, to refer to some similar event that had taken place in previous ages, in which the same persons were actors, dwelling more particularly upon the part he himself had taken in the several transactions. From these relations the work called by the Singhalese Pansiya-panas-játaka-pota, or the Book of the Five Hundred and Fifty Births, was compiled. "The work known by this title," says the Rev. D. J. Gogerly (Ceylon Friend, Aug. 1838), “is a Pali commentary on one of the fifteen books belonging to the fifth section of the Sútra Pitaka, or Discourses of Budha, and forms no part therefore of the sacred code; but according to a decision. that the comments are of equal authority with the text, it is regarded as of indisputable authority. There is a Singhalese translation of the greater part of it, which is exceedingly popular, not on account of the peculiar doctrines of Budhism. contained in it, for these are but incidentally referred to, but from its being a collection of amusing stories which they believe to be unquestionably true. The copy of the Pali comment now before me is written on olas 29 inches long, having 9 lines on a page, and occupies 1000 leaves or 2000 pages. The text itself is very scarce; my copy was made from one in the possession of the late chief priest of the Matura district, Bówilla; it contains 340 pages of 9 lines each, written on olas 23 inches long. It is named Játaka Gáthá, or Birth Stanzas, although a large proportion of them has no reference (independent of the comment) to any birth, being general maxims or miscellaneous observations. Each of the first one hundred Játakas consists of a single verse of four lines; but some of the remainder, being histories, are much longer, the last one, or history of king Wessantara, occupying 40 pages. The comment comprises-1. The occasion upon which the verse was spoken. 2. A story illustrating it, affirmed to have been related at the time by Budha, detailing circumstances which occurred to him and the parties respecting whom the verse was spoken, in a previous birth. 3. A philological explanation of the words and sense of the stanza, the verse or verses being mostly inserted at length